


Summer Lovin’

by Bolt41319



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 13:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15775230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt41319/pseuds/Bolt41319
Summary: Regina breaks her leg during holidays with her parents and sister, and is forced to stay behind while they are out visiting. One day she decides to get out to get some fresh air and ends up running into a certain British boy with deep dimples and ocean blue eyes.For OQ on Holidays WeekPrompt #34





	Summer Lovin’

This fucking  _ sucks.  _

It was her idea to go on vacation in the first place. Her family had been bickering for months now, with the stress of Zelena’s college applications and Mothers business moving its way toward the can, and her Father’s horse racing business not having enough employees. An afternoon with all four members of the Mills family home could be heard from down the block. 

One afternoon, she walked into the kitchen and tossed down a pamphlet for a beach town on the eastern shore. It was far enough from Storybrooke that they wouldn’t run into anyone they knew, and maybe, just maybe they could act like a normal family for once.

With her and her sisters persistence, her parents finally agreed to the trip, until they got there. 

And with one unfortunate slip down the steps, her leg was snapped in half. 

The doctors explained it as a high tibial stress fracture. She didn’t need surgery, so her leg was set back into place and wrapped in a baby blue cast that stretched from her knee to her ankle. 

Her sister blamed her for managing to ruin their vacation before it truly began, their father was persistently trying to get them to go back home, and her mother was furious. 

_ How dare you break your leg on this trip? This was all your blasted idea in the first place. _

Yes, like the  _ chose  _ to break her leg on the only vacation they’d taken in years. 

But, they still had the hotel booked for the week, and with some convincing, Regina managed to send her family to a beach near the beach they were visiting, where wild horses walked the streets and sunbathed in the sand. She was finally, blissfully alone.

Moving around the old hotel was a struggle, but she managed. They’d given her a pair of crutches, and the older woman who owned the hotel, Granny, was more than kind to help her hobble around while her parents were gone. 

“You’ve done a number on your leg there, haven’t you dear?” 

Regina nodded, grimacing as she lifted herself out of the bed and to her crutches. “They said it’s not as bad as it could have been, but since it was broken so high, I needed the big cast. It’s a pain in the ass though.” She reaches down and slings a bag onto her shoulder, filled with books to last her for her day on the boardwalk. 

“You be careful now” Granny scoulds. “The last thing we need is for that Mother of yours to come back and have a holler because of something you have or haven’t done. Where are you off to anyhow?”

She chuckles, and puts a water bottle into her bag. “She does have a voice. I’m going to go sit on the porch. I figured if I can’t get to the beach, I might as well get outside. I’m going stir crazy in here… No offense, but I can only watch the same movie over and over again before I go insane.” 

“Be careful, and yell if you need me. I’ll bring you out some lunch in a few hours, okay?”

“No, you don’t have to do that” she shakes her head. 

Granny shrugs her off and insists. “You’re the only nice one to come out of your family so far, so I don’t mind.”

Regina smiles, and crutches her way to the door. “Thank you.”

“Have a good day kid.”

She finds a spot along the deck of the hotel and sets herself up in a rocking chair, with her leg propped up against wooden ottoman with a throw pillow. With a her book propped open in her lap and her phone turned on Do Not Disturb, she was finally able to enjoy her vacation, away from her family. 

Until she sees him coming off of the beach. 

It’s like one of those romantic teenage films, where the girl see’s the boy and swoons. But that’s just the thing… 

He’s  _ hot _ . Carrying a surfboard and walking across the sand, running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. If her leg wasn’t broken, she’d be laying out on that beach, flirting with the cute boy while in her deep purple bikini, promptly ignoring her family. But instead, she’s on a porch, strapped up in a cast, waiting out the rest of her vacation and hoping her parents stay at the horse beach for good. 

She runs her thumb along the edge of her book, watching as he props his board up against the sea wall and drinks from the water bottle he had stashed in his backpack. She’s trying to not stare, she really is, but she can’t help it.  _ There’s no harm in looking _ she tells herself.

But then his eyes meet hers, he smirks and waves, and chokes a little. 

Why- why is he coming toward her. This wasn’t supposed to happen this way, she’s got a broken leg, she’s wearing her comfy clothes,  _ she’s got her hair in a fun bun. _

“Hey there.”

Oh Gods, he’s British. 

He climbs up and sits on the hotel railing, smiling down at her, and she’s speechless. 

“Um- Hi.”

“My name’s Robin” he holds his hand out, and she leans forward to shake it. When he smiles, the dimples in his cheeks get deeper, and she stares at him. 

“Regina.” 

She’s never been the sibling that boys talk to. That’s always been Zelena, with her perky tits and her bright red hair. Regina’s more… bookish, and much less appealing to the stereotypical 15 boys in her grade at Storybrooke High. 

“You know, Granny’s going to have your head if she sees you sitting on her railing like that. She doesn’t seem like the warm and fuzzy type.”

He laughs, and she stares at his dimples again. “So you’ve met Granny. You’re right about that. At least she can’t whack you on your bum with a wooden spoon and all.” 

Regina tilts her head and raises an eyebrow quizzically. “What do you-”

“She’s my grandmum” he laughs. “Every summer we down here from June to August, and Granny ends up putting me to work. But on the days that they move the surf beach to the hotel, I get a break to just lay out in the water. So, what happened to your leg?” 

“When we got here, I was running down the steps at the inlet and slipped. 10 steps later, and my leg was snapped. My family’s been driving me insane, though, so I convinced them they needed a day at Assateague that way I could sit up here in peace.”

He shifts awkwardly, and looks out at the ocean then back to her. “I- I can go if you want. I didn’t mean to disturb-”

“No! No, not you, just them. My family is… something. They haven’t stopped fighting since we got here, and now that my leg’s broken they seem to find a reason to blame me for everything, so I was happy to send them away. I don’t mind the company, though. I’ve been holed up in our room since I fell, so company is nice.” 

He grins again, and the dimples become a more permanent fixture on his face as they talk. She tells him about Storybrooke, and all of its odd quirks and weird ideals. He talks about Sherwood, and how he moved to New York as a kid but never truly lost his accent. 

 

They spend the day just sitting on the porch, laughing at the people walking by and ridiculous jokes he tells. Granny makes them grilled cheese sandwiches, and eyes Robin carefully as she drops them off, scolding him with a  _ ‘you better not be bothering my customers Robin, or I’ll have you working for the rest of the summer.’ _ As they eat lunch, Regina explains her history of horseback riding, and listens to his love of archery. 

Hours later, her family is walking back up the main steps of the hotel. Her parents, who seem to be mid argument about their impending finances, walk right past her, but Zelena stops. 

“Hi there” she smiles to Robin. “Regina, dear, how did you get down from the room? Aren’t you supposed to be inside?” 

Regina rolls her eyes. “My leg is just broken, I’m not invalid. Shouldn’t you break that up?” she asks, nodding her head toward their parents. 

“Oh no, that’s been going on for hours. It started all about you actually, and paying your medical bills because you’re a mess and can’t walk down steps.” Zelena pulls her sunglasses back down and turns toward the boardwalk. “I’m over this. See you tomorrow?” 

As Zelena walks off the porch and down to the boardwalk, Regina and Robin start laughing. 

“You weren’t kidding about your family, were you? I’d avoid them at all costs too.” 

“Just wait until my parents come out here. They’re even-”

Before she can finish, her mother comes storming out of the hotel lobby. “Regina! Your father is being  _ impossible _ . I’m ready to leave this horrid town and go home.”

Regina side eyes Robin with a little smirk, and then turns back to her Mother. “Well i’m having a great time, and Zelena’s out on the boardwalk, so I don’t think we’re going to leave anytime soon. And, we’ve already booked this great hotel for a week. We might as well use it.”

Cora curses her daughter under her breath, and storms off of the porch and around the corner toward the street. 

Once they’re gone, and the insanity wears off, she glances at the time on her phone and back at him. 

“It’s already five” she sighs, her hand aimlessly toying with the unread book in her lap. 

“Do- um- do you have plans tonight? If you want, there’s this really good sushi place down the road-”

“Yes- I mean, no. I mean-” the blush creeps up her neck and she ducks her head to hide her embarrassment. “I’d love to go.” 

He smiles, an excited smirk, and his dimples pull her in once again. She can’t help but stare at him; memorizing the lines of his face, the deep blue of his eyes. 

Hours later, after they’ve stuffed themselves full of sushi and ice cream, they end up on a bench on the boardwalk. Her foot sits propped up on the sea wall and she curls into him with her head rested against his shoulder. 

She leans up to thank him for the day- for managing to turn her summer vacation into something great, but as soon as she lifts her head he presses his lips to hers in a short, quick kiss. 

He pulls back with an apology spilling from him, yet before he can talk she cups his cheek and pulls him back in for a slower kiss. 

When she pulls away she presses her forehead against his and a wide smile spreads across her face. 

* * *

Years later, they find themselves back on that same bench, watching 5 year old Henry and 4 year old Roland play tag in the sand.

He wraps one arm around her shoulders, and uses the other to hold baby Robyn in place against his chest. 

“Just think” she sighs, pressing a kiss to their daughters temple “Had I not broken my leg all those years ago, none of this may have happened.” 

“Thank the Gods for that” he laughs before kissing his wife. 

  
  
  



End file.
